Jared Lee Loughner will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty Tuesday[1] in the Arizona shooting spree in which he killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.

David Hernandez, a former staff intern for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Tucson, who was with Giffords on the day of the shooting, arrives at court for a hearing for alleged shooter Jared Lee Loughner , Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, in Tucson, Ariz. Loughner is accused of shooting the former congresswoman, and killing six people, and injuring several others. A possible plea agreement could also be reached, sending Loughner to prison for the rest of his life.

As the Associated Press reported, “the outcome was welcomed by some victims, including Giffords herself, as a way to avoid a lengthy, possibly traumatic trial and years of legal wrangling over a death sentence.”

“The pain and loss caused by the events of Jan. 8, 2011, are incalculable,” Giffords said in a joint statement with her husband, Mark Kelly. “Avoiding a trial will allow us — and we hope the whole Southern Arizona community — to continue with our recovery.”

We have historically opposed the death penalty, and point to this case as a potential roadmap to justice in the case of of James Holmes, who’s accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 others in the Aurora theater shootings.